Movie (2007)
I Am Legend is a 2007 post-apocalyptic science fiction film directed by Francis Lawrence and starring Will Smith. It is the third feature film adaptation of Richard Matheson's 1954 novel of the same name, following 1964's The Last Man on Earth and 1971's The Omega Man.[2] Smith plays virologist Robert Neville, who is immune to a man-made virus originally created to cure cancer. He works to create a remedy while defending himself against the mutated creatures created by the virus. Warner Bros. began developing I Am Legend in 1994, and various actors and directors were attached to the project, though production was delayed due to budgetary concerns related to the script. Production began in 2006 in New York City, filming mainly on location in the city, including a $5 million scene[3] at the Brooklyn Bridge, the most expensive scene ever filmed in the city at the time. I Am Legend was released on December 14, 2007 in the United States and Canada, and opened to the largest ever box office (not counting for inflation) for a non-Christmas film released in the U.S. in December. The film was the seventh highest grossing film of 2007, earning $276 million domestically and $329 million internationally, for a total of $585 million. Plot In December 2009, military virologist Lieutenant Colonel Robert Neville (Will Smith) loses his wife Zoe (Salli Richardson) and daughter Marley (Willow Smith) in a helicopter accident during a chaotic quarantine of Manhattan. A genetically-engineered variant of the measles virus created by Dr. Alice Krippin (Emma Thompson), meant as a cure for cancer, had mutated into a lethal strain. It spreads throughout the world, killing 90% of humanity. By September 2012, Neville is the last healthy human in New York City; the rest of the plague's survivors have degenerated into predatory, cannibalistic beings referred to as "Darkseekers",[4] who hunt the immune humans as prey. The Darkseekers are so named for hiding during daylight due to a painful intolerance of UV radiation. Neville's daily routine includes experimenting on infected rats to find a cure for the virus and trips through a decaying Manhattan to collect supplies from abandoned homes or hunt for the deer that have moved into the city. He also keeps vigil each day for a response to his continuous recorded AM radio broadcasts, which instruct any survivors to meet him at midday at the South Street Seaport. Neville's isolation is broken only by the companionship of his German Shepherd Sam and interaction with mannequins he has set up as patrons of a video store. When one of his rat experiments shows a promising treatment, Neville sets a snare trap and captures an infected woman. An enraged Darkseeker alpha male attempts to rescue her, but is driven back by the sunlight. In his laboratory in the basement of his heavily fortified Washington Square Park home, Neville tries the new serum on the infected woman, showing signs of recovering, but with no success, much to Neville's dismay. The next day, after finding one of his mannequins ("Fred") out in the street in front of Grand Central Terminal, he is caught in a snare trap and passes out. He regains consciousness at dusk when his alarm watch goes off and frees himself, but the knife gets caught into his leg, wounding him badly and he and Sam are attacked by a pack of infected dogs. Although Neville and Sam manage to kill the dogs, one bites Sam during the fight. Neville brings Sam home and attempts to save the dog by injecting a strain of his serum, but it is too late; a heartbroken Neville is forced to kill his only companion by strangling her, looking away and feeling very uncomfortable while doing this. Overcome by grief and rage, Neville attacks a group of the infected on the seaport the following night with his UV light equipped SUV. He manages to kill several Darkseekers, but they overwhelm and nearly kill him before he is rescued by a pair of immune humans, a woman named Anna (Alice Braga) and a boy named Ethan (Charlie Tahan), who followed his radio broadcasts. Anna and Ethan take him back to his home, where Anna explains that they are making their way to a survivors' camp in Bethel, Vermont. Neville disputes that such a camp exists, and expresses his doubt when Anna says God told her about it. The following night, the alpha male leads a mob of Darkseekers in an attack on the house. Anna, who was unaware of Neville's precautions in covering his scent outside the house, inadvertently allows the Darkseekers to follow their trail and discover Neville's home. When the Darkseekers charge the house, Neville uses UV worklights to push the mob back, but the infected easily shatter the lights and continue their attack. Neville kills the first wave of Darkseekers with claymore mines, but finds himself defenseless against the second wave. Neville tries to find Anna and Ethan, but before he can, a Darkseeker enters and attacks him. The Darkseeker retreats upstairs and begins tearing a hole in the roof so other infected can get in. After Neville saves Anna and Ethan, they hear the infected climbing the house, so they retreat into the basement laboratory. They seal themselves in a reinforced plexiglass room with the infected woman, and they discover that Neville's treatment is in fact working: the subject looks much more human. The infected break in and the alpha male starts throwing himself against the plexiglass, cracking the material. Realizing that the last treatment has been successful, Neville draws a vial of the infected woman's blood and gives it to Anna before shutting them inside a coal chute hidden in the back of the lab. He uses an M67 hand grenade to wipe out the attackers at the cost of his own life. Anna and Ethan are later seen driving in Vermont and stopping at the gated entrance to the survivors' colony, where Anna hands over the antidote. In a voice-over, Anna claims that the survivors are Neville's legacy, as his fight for a cure became legend. Alternate Ending In the film's original ending, Neville realizes that the alpha male is identifying the woman he was experimenting on by a butterfly tattoo, and that the alpha male wants her back. Neville puts his gun down and returns the infected woman. Neville and the alpha male then exchange stares; Neville apologizes to the Darkseekers; the alpha male acknowledges his apology, and the infected leave. The final shot follows Neville, Anna, and Ethan as they drive away towards Vermont with the antidote. Due to test audience's dislike of the film's original ending, several scenes were altered before the film's release, especially the stand-off between Neville and the infected in his laboratory. Visual effects supervisor Janek Sirrs recounts the original ending, starting with the standoff: "At that point, Neville's — and the audience's — assumptions about the nature of these creatures are shown to be incorrect. We see that they have actually retained some of their humanity. There is a very important moment between the alpha male and Neville. The alpha male slapped his hand on the glass and smeared it, revealing a butterfly-shaped imprint." Cast *Will Smith as Dr. Robert Neville *Alice Braga as Anna *Charlie Tahan as Ethan *Dash Mihok as Infected alpha male *Abbey & Kona as Sam, the dog *Emma Thompson as Dr. Alice Krippin, the doctor who creates the cancer cure that inadvertently destroys mankind *Salli Richardson as Zoe Neville *Willow Smith as Marley Neville *Joanna Numata as Infected alpha female *Darrell Foster as Mike *Pat Fraley as Voice of the President of the United States *Mike Patton as Infected creatures Special Edition's There are lots of different types of editions of the 'I Am Legend' DVD, below you will see the ranges of the DVD's. Special Editions are usually more valuable than the normal version shown by the increased cost and special layout such as more bonus features, shiny casings, moving images and much more. 'Original' _________________________________________________________________________________________________ The original copy is the very first complete DVD ever to hit the market. It is the least valuable compared to the other editions that are for sale. The DVD's features include: The 'I Am Legend' movie by WarnerBrothers, 2007, Language Select, Set Up, Bonus. (Includes a series of animated comics that link in to the film and the alternate ending to the movie) This DVD is commonly found at any store that features a 'DVD / Movie' isle. Two - Disk Special Edition In this edition, the set includes two disks, one disk that cannot be found in the original copy. This DVD would be very hard to find in your local electronics store for its so valuable. Although you may find it availible for Blu - Ray. 'The Ultimate Collector's Edition' ______________________________________________________________________________________________ In this VERY rare edition, you will recieve lots of extras which cannot be found in either of the previous editions. In This Purchase You Will Recieve: A big black box which holds al the contents, A shiny cover for the box, 3 disks ( 2 Blu - Ray and a digital copy DVD), Exlusive 44 - page concept sketch book, Collectable Lenticular, 6 Art Cards showing the International Cities Devastated by the Plague Virus. This collection will be EXTREMELY hard to find in local stores for its really valuable from all of the contents it possesses. You may purchase this set online.